A 450-year-old letter penned by Mary Queen of Scots to the French ambassador in England requesting safe passage for one of her noblemen could fetch up to £18,000 when it goes under the hammer in Edinburgh next week.
The communique - dispatched from inside custody at Carlisle Castle in 1568, a year after her forced abdication - is written in French and demands George Douglas be granted entry as reward for his assistance in her escape from Lochleven Castle weeks earlier.
The fragile letter is in excellent condition and features around 12 lines written by Mary’s secretary, with an additional six in her own hand.
